Actor Spacey's brother claims their dad was abusive, a Nazi | Idaho Statesman

Late Sunday, actor Kevin Spacey was accused by actor Anthony Rapp of making inappropriate sexual advances on Rapp when Rapp was 14. By Monday morning, the British news outlet DailyMail.com shared an “exclusive” story quoting Spacey’s older brother, Boise limo driver Randy B. Fowler. Fowler accused their father of terrorizing the family and physically and sexually abusing him.

It’s all very salacious and timely, but Fowler’s agent, Bonnie Soto, of Boise, notes that the Daily Mail story is not really new. It is based on an interview that Fowler, 62, did with the Daily Mail in 2004.

A copy of the print version of the original story by Daily Mail reporter Sharon Churcher is on Fowler’s website.

In that story, Fowler accused his late father, Thomas Geoffrey Fowler, of being a sexual predator and a member of the American Nazi Party who regularly whipped Fowler and his sister, Julie. The Boise man said his younger brother retreated inward as a coping mechanism.

“Kevin tried to avoid what was going on by wrapping himself in an emotional bubble. He became very sly and smart,” Fowler told Churcher. “He was so determined to try to avoid the whippings that he just minded his Ps and Qs until there was nothing inside. He had no feelings.”

Fowler went on to describe years of abuse the siblings suffered at Thomas’ hand. Their father died in 1992 at age 68. Their mother, Kathleen Fowler, died in 2003.

Fowler lives in Boise, where he dresses — and looks — like Rod Stewart as he drives a limo. Until 2015, Fowler had his own company, Rod’s Limos. Now he drives for Idaho Towncar.

He finds himself amid a media firestorm because of the Daily Mail’s story. “His phone has been ringing off the hook,” Soto said.

Rapp, 46, starred in the Tony-award winning musical and film versions of “Rent.” He now is in the cast of “Star Trek: Discovery.”

Spacey, 58, drew criticism Monday after he acknowledged Rapp’s accusation apologized and announced that he was choosing publicly “to live as a gay man.” In his tweet, Spacey added that “there are stories out there about me.”

Spacey is Kevin’s middle name. He stopped using Fowler as he pursued his acting career. The two-time Oscar-winner and his brother have been estranged for many years.

Soto said Fowler is working with her on a book about his experience with child abuse: “A Moment in Time: Living in the Shadows, Lifting Up the Curtain From a Lifetime of Silence After Surviving Childhood Sexual Abuse.”

Netflix announced Monday that it would not renew Spacey’s award-winning series “House of Cards.”

Spacey also is filming “Gore,” a Netflix-produced bio-pic in which Spacey plays renowned gay author Gore Vidal. The film, which is being shot in Vidal’s former residence in Italy, is being directed by Idaho’s Michael Hoffman. There has been no announcement yet on the fate of that project.

The Idaho Statesman tried to contact Fowler through Facebook for comment. He referred the inquiry to Soto.

This story was originally published October 30, 2017 at 7:53 PM.